The Islamic Courts Union (ICU) claim they have taken control of several towns in Somalia, including the provincial town of Jawhar.

The government in Mogadishu, 90 km to the south, has denied the claims.

It is the third time in two months that the ICU have taken over the town.

The ICU say they returned to Jawhar at the request of local tribal leaders who asked them to step in to restore order following the withdrawal of government forces.

The union briefly seize towns as a tactic to show their strength, to prove their presence, and to stretch Ethiopian-Somali troops.

More than 110 Somalis have died in the last week, both from fighting in Mogadishu and brief ICU seizures of Jawhar and other towns.

"We arrived and secured the town," said Abdirahim Isa Adow, a spokesman for the ICU. "It is not in our plans to remain in Jawhar."

Their return comes amid fears that towns like Jawhar may be vulnerable to theft and looting by local clan militias after Somali security forces left.

The ICU fighters have carried out relentless attacks against the Ethiopia-backed government forces since their movement was toppled in early 2007.

Many of their members were forced to flee the country, but those who stayed are said to be younger.

They oppose all foreign presence in Somalia and have vowed to overthrow the current government which they view as a stooge of outside powers.

The clashes killed some 6,500 people last year, according to a rights group.

Somalia has suffered seemingly endless violence after the ousting of President Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

PHOTO CAPTION

Civilians flee with their belongings from Somalia's capital Mogadishu April 27, 2008.

Al-Jazeera